Summer Heat
by SetsuntaMew
Summary: [Squffie] [one shot] When the heat of the summer causes Yuffie to collapse, Squall ends up watching over her. After she awakens, tempers are short and the two argue. But has Yuffie finally pushed him too far?


** Summer Heat  
**by SetsuntaMew 

Well, what do ya know? I'm actually doing that one year anniversary piece I only daydreamt about. Yes, that's right. I've been writing fanfics on a semi-regular basis for a whole year now. And, since my first was a Squffie, this one is as well.

**Disclaimer**: Did I own Kingdom Hearts a year ago? No, I didn't think so. Do I own it now? Same answer.

* * *

"Squall! It's just too hot to do anything today!" Yuffie whined. After being informed that even with the immense heat they would still be training, she had to make sure that he knew what a terrible idea that was.

"It's Leon. And it's not too hot. You just need to work on your tolerance," he replied coolly.

"Oh, fine. But if I get heat stroke or somethin' it'll be just 'cause you're evil with your training," she shot back, glaring.

"You're not going to get heat stroke."

"Oh, you watch!"

"Whatever."

* * *

_A few hours later. They've been training the whole time._

"Squall...I feel really sick. Like I'm going to fall over..." Yuffie complained. She really did feel more tired than usual. It had to be the bright shining sun, mocking her with its heat.

"Leon. What do you mean?" he asked, not really thinking much of it. That is, until she let out a slight moan as she collapsed. "Yuffie? Yuffie! Are you okay?"

Unfortunately, the shinobi wasn't okay. "Mmfgh...my head hurts...dizzy..." she mumbled. Not seeing any other solution, Squall lifted her up and carried her back to the hotel.

"Aerith! Yuffie collapsed while we were training!" he exclaimed as her entered the Red Room.

"You two were out training in this heat wave? Tsk...bring her over here. I'm quite surprised you're not feeling the effects of the heat in the jacket of yours," Aerith answered him. "Now, I'll need some cold water and towels, okay?" Squall nodded and set off to gather what she needed.

A few hours later found Squall sitting in a chair next to the bed. Aerith had told him to watch Yuffie and find her if the girl woke up. Not long ago, he himself had dozed off. Heat does that.

Yuffie sat up in the bed and looked around. _'Hm...where exactly am I? Oh, the Red Room. What happened? I remember the heat, and then I... OHMIGAWD! I collapsed and Squall's probably gonna **kill** me for cutting his precious training short! Shit...wait. Is that Squall?'_ She had just noticed him sleeping in the chair next to the bed. Just to make sure that Squall, _Squall_, of all people had actually sat up watching over her, Yuffie did the only thing she could think of: she poked him. Repeatedly. Mind you, Squall was not one who enjoyed being woken up by incessant poking. Then again, who is?

"Would you stop that...Yuffie? You're awake?"

"Yep! And I think I'm feeling better now!" To prove her point, she proceeded to do a cartwheel followed by a handspring. She was quite ready to do some other acrobatic trick when Squall caught her around the waist to stop her.

"Don't jump around like that! I was already worried enough about you!" he yelled at Yuffie.

"You were...worried? About me?" she questioned, disbelieving.

"Yeah..."

Yuffie then blushed slightly, before trying to stop herself. _'I am the greatest ninja of all time...therefore, I do not blush!'_ But her attempts were futile. She wasn't used to Squall actually admitting to caring. His heart was usually encased in ice. Maybe to heat had begun to melt the icy walls around his heart.

"Well...I guess I would be worried about it you, too, if you collapsed, Squall," she said hesitantly.

Squall sighed. "Yuffie, my name is Leon."

"Actually, no it's not!" she exclaimed, thoroughly annoyed. "You're just trying to hide from the past."

"I am _not_ hiding from anything!"

"Yes you are! You don't want to remember the past at all...you're trying to forget it all like that'll make it go away!"

"You're just being immature. You wouldn't understand. You're too young to even remember what it was like."

"So that's it? I'm too young? Does that mean I don't remember my family or friends? I remember everyone! Trying to deny that they ever even existed doesn't make you strong, you know," Yuffie finished.

Surprisingly, Squall had no answer to any of this. He simply turned and started to walk out of the room.

"So you're just running away again! Fine! Be that way, _Leon_," she snapped.

Squall stopped, turned, and walked back over to her so that he was right up against her. "I insist on you calling me Leon to distance myself from you," he hissed. And with that, he bent down and roughly kissed her before pulling away and leaving a very surprised Yuffie behind.

_'Squall...'_

* * *

Yuffie spent the rest of the day laying in bed, thinking of her previous conversation with Squall. She just couldn't make sense of it! They had been arguing, and then he had just kissed her completely out of the blue! Confused didn't even begin to describe her emotions.

Squall hadn't returned. Not even for dinner. Aerith spent the whole meal sending looks at Yuffie that clearly meant that the healer wanted an explanation. But Yuffie wasn't quite ready to talk about it yet.

By the time she was usually going to bed, Yuffie was really worried. Squall _still_ hadn't returned. She made up her mind. She was going to find him.

And find him she did. He was sitting on the edge of the roof of the Gizmo Shop, simply staring into space. Yuffie hesitated before going over to sit next to him. "I'm sorry," she said. "I didn't mean to bring all of that up. I guess...I guess I just don't understand."

"No, no," he said, waving her off. "I just haven't wanted to face the truth, and it kind of...hurt...when you brought it up."

"Sq-er, Leon. It really wasn't my place to say. We'll just leave it at that, okay? You can keep your distance from me."

There was a long silence after that, until Squall spoke up. "...Yuffie. When I said I wanted to keep my distance from you, it wasn't because I dislike you."

"Oh."

"It's...kind of the opposite."

"Opposite?"

"Yeah."

"Soooo. Does that mean you _like_ me?"

"You're not making this any easier."

"Sorry, Squall."

He sighed. She waited for him to correct her. "I've been trying for a long time not to feel anything for you. I lost everyone I loved when Hollow Bastion fell and I didn't want to lose anyone else. Thus the distancing."

"But I can take care of myself! I'm not gonna get killed by some Heartless! Pshaw, no way! I'm a master ninja!" Yuffie punched the air a few times to strengthen the point.

"I know, Yuffie. But..."

"It's okay to be scared, Squall," she said softly. "Hell, we all are. But Sora's gonna get rid of the Heartless, and it'll all get better. So don't worry about losing people so much!"

"Whatever."

"**That**'s the Squall I know! Don't think so much; you'll hurt yourself! Enjoy life while it's here!"

"I think I will." He kissed her again. More gently this time, nothing at all like the earlier one. Yuffie wrapped her arms around his neck, keeping him from escaping like he had before.

They ended up sleeping out there that night. Yuffie sat snug in Squall's lap, and they found peace together in their struggled time. Yes, all was finally well. The weather even decided to cool down.

* * *

Practically pointless fluff. Except there was a plot. Somewhere in there. If you find it, you get a cookie. Wow, I am so not used to writing anything KH, so if Squall and Yuffie are OOC, I am very sorry! And I apologize for any grammar or spelling errors. I'm trying to get this done before FF goes down for updates and crap. And it's late.

So...review, please? I'll love you forever! Hopefully it's better than _Tired_, right? A year means improvement, right?


End file.
